This is one of the concept sketches I created for an NSI : Fruit Ninja Icy Fruit Pop maker playset. The child could chop up real fruit, pour into the molds, then freeze on the 'samurai sword' popsicle sticks for a delicious treat :)

Spider-Man Figure Controls - A set of Spider-Man figure control drawings created for some ooze playsets I designed for Hasbro. The three figures are Spidey, Venom, and the Green Goblin - all based on the classic comic book look. Please take a look at all the figs. Thanks!

Spider-Man Figure Controls - A set of Spider-Man figure control drawings created for some ooze playsets I designed for Hasbro. The three figures are Spidey, Venom, and the Green Goblin - all based on the classic comic book look. Please take a look at all the figs. Thanks!

Spider-Man Figure Controls - A set of Spider-Man figure control drawings created for some ooze playsets I designed for Hasbro. The three figures are Spidey, Venom, and the Green Goblin - all based on the classic comic book look. Please take a look at all the figs. Thanks!

Pokemon Micro Playsets : Battle Arena - This is the color concept for 1 of 4 Pokemon micro playsets I designed for Jakks Pacific. All four playsets use a common exterior housing with different deco. The interiors are based on elements from the show. Since these were to retail at $14.99 I couldn't use any electronic features. All features had to be simple 'kid-powered' pieces.

Pokemon Micro Playsets : Forest - This is the color concept for another Pokemon micro playset I designed for Jakks Pacific. All four playsets use a common exterior housing with different deco. The interiors are based on elements from the show. Since these were to retail at $14.99 I couldn't use any electronic features. All features had to be simple 'kid-powered' pieces.

Pokemon Micro Playsets : Waterfall - This is the color concept for another Pokemon micro playset I designed for Jakks Pacific. All four playsets use a common exterior housing with different deco. The interiors are based on elements from the show. Since these were to retail at $14.99 I couldn't use any electronic features. All features had to be simple 'kid-powered' pieces.

Pokemon Micro Playsets : Pokemon Center - This is another Pokemon micro playset I designed for Jakks Pacific: The Pokemon Center (basically a hospital) The timeframe was very tight on these, so I was asked to go right to a color render after my 1st pencil rough sketch... no changes. I was then asked to complete control drawings, again without changes. The controls were done in Illustrator. The exterior housing was common to all 4 sets I designed. I would've liked to refine the design & explore different features but time didn't allow.

Voltron : Castle of Lions Micro Playset - Color concept I created for a new Voltron Castle of Lions mini playset. Time was tight so I had help from a friend, Mike Kelleher to handle most of the color. The anime image of Voltron is not mine - it was added to the board for reference (sorry don't know the artist) This playset was part of a larger Voltron presentation. I was asked to base the playset off of the classic Voltron but give it an updated look. My focus was on the play features, not the style or 'look'.

Star Wars Jabba's Palace Dancer Figures - A long time ago, I got to do some control drawings for the Star Wars Jabba's Palace action figures. Here are two of the three drawings along with the Lee's Action Figure News cover they were featured on. I believe I had to do these before the Special Edition film was released, so I had little reference to work from.

Spider-Man: Green Goblin Glider Control Art - This is a Toy Biz: Spider-Man Green Goblin Glider electronic toy that I created finished control art for. The drawings were done before the first movie was released. I was given a breadboard model and some film production reference photos. The toy spun in circles, shot missiles, & had sound FX. This was one of the first times I used Illustrator to create control art.

Simpsons : Oval Office Playset - This is the design I did for Playmates Toys Simpsons line - Oval Office Playset. This was based off of a specific episode in which Lisa was president in the future. This is hand drawn and rendered in Illustrator.

Simpsons Tree House of Horror 4 Playset - Here is the design & controls I created for Playmates Toys- Simpsons: Tree House of Horror 4 Playset - The Collector's Lair! I wanted a 2 story playset for this one, so Playmates said "If you can fit it in the box you can design it." I had to work out a packing diagram before fully designing the set, but I made it work. The controls are a combo of hand drawn & Illustrator. The set was very popular with collectors :)

Simpsons : Treehouse of Horror 5 Manimal Playset - This is the design I did for Playmates Toys Simpsons line. This was supposed to be the last Tree House of Horror playset, and the last playset for the entire line: The Island of Dr. Hibbert - House of Pain lab. Check out the control drawings I did as well. The line was cancelled before this one could be released.

Simpsons : Treehouse of Horror 5 Manimal Playset Controls - These are the controls I did for Playmates Toys Simpsons: Tree House of Horror 5 playset - The Island of Dr. Hibbert - House of Pain lab. This was supposed to be the last Tree House of Horror playset, and the last playset for the entire line, but the line was cancelled before this one could be released.

Simpsons : Tree House of Horror 5 Playset - This is the design I did for Playmates Toys' Simpsons line. This was supposed to be the last Tree House of Horror playset, but Fox decided they wanted a different environment instead: The Island of Dr. Hibbert Lab. I did a design for that as well (I'll post soon) but the line ended before it made it to production.

Simpsons Deep Space Homer Figures - Here are some designs and control drawings I did for Playmates Toys 3" Simpsons figure line a few years back. These figures are based on the "Deep Space Homer" episode. Controls are done traditionally, and the color concepts were done in Illustrator.

Super Hero Squad : Spider Man Construction Site Playset - A rough black & white playset concept for Hasbro's Super Hero Squad figures. The focus was on simple 'kid-powered' features. They let me choose characters and environments, so I thought it would be cool to have Spidey fight Juggernaut at a construction site (ala ASM #229)

G.I. Joe Combat Heroes Figures - Black & white concept sketches for Hasbro's G.I. Joe Combat Heroes action figures. These character designs are for the next wave of figures. Not sure if they are moving forward on these. I guess it depends on sales of the first wave. We'll see.

Star Wars Stack 'Ems : Set 1 - These are stackable keychain figures I designed for Basic Fun. I developed the basic figure (R2-D2 & Vader are the only variations) then designed the graphic label wrap for each figure. I'll post the additional Star Wars figures in this line soon.

I also designed a number of Marvel super heroes Stack 'Em figures that I will post soon.

Carabineer Game Designs - These are several Carabineer games I designed for Basic Fun (you may know them as the "Keychain Kings"). They wanted to start using a carabineer clip instead of a keychain and asked me to design some of their better selling licensed games into that format. I created these presentation images in Illustrator.

Marvel Comics Sgt. Fury Collectible Bust - These are turnarounds I did for Dynamic Forces - Sgt. Nick Fury collectible bust (statue). I used a classic cover of "Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos" for the initial pose. I also took photo ref of myself to help with the side & back view. I even found good photo ref for his dog tags and Thompson machine gun to make sure I was accurate. Unfortunately, I think the finished sculpt was weak and lacked detail. Oh well.

Click Start Product Illustration - This is a product illustration of the LeapFrog "Click Start" I did for V-Tech.

V-Tech was conducting market tests and wanted to use artwork to show the sample competing products. They asked me to create the illustration from a product sample.

Just to be clear- I did not design the Click Start. I only created this illustration of the product. The image is about 99% Adobe Illustrator. The only pixel piece is the cartridge label which I scanned.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Playsets - Here are some TMNT action figure playsets I designed for Playmates Toys a while back. They are simple small playset bases that would each come with a turtle figure.

911 World Trade Center Collectible - This is a color concept I created for a 911 World Trade Center collectible display piece. I was given a rough thumbnail sketch for the basic design. The twin towers would be made from crystal, and the flag would be resin. The base would be wood.

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Hi Adam
Groooaaaaannnn…..
William Hirsch was the main guy I worked with at Jakks. I knew him from Playmates Toys.
He is a product manager.
When Jakks was pitching for the Voltron license, I was helping them design the playset concepts.
William has a habit of taking my artwork and putting it in his portfolio without explaining he was the product manager - NOT the designer.
I have spoken to him about this. I asked him to simply add a description to his images and explain his role in those projects, and possibly give me a 'shout out' as the artist. He has yet to do so.
He also has a number of my Simpsons designs in his portfolio posted here, again without any explanation or credit to me. >:(
The sad part, is that this isn't the first person to take credit for my artwork.

Thanks! Much appreciated. When I received this job, I was asked to emulate a style the design firm was using for the coloring book series. I was mimicking another artist, but I created these images from scratch. The tricky part was the freehand drawing in Illustrator with my Wacom. I had never done that before. It took some getting used to.

Depends on the set.
The concept sketches are hand-drawn, scanned, then converted to AI. The rough sketches take about 1-2 hours. The clean concept 1-2 hours. The controls usually took about 2 regular work days for these sets. That varied based on the set. After creating a bunch of Simpsons sets, I had a library of elements that I could reuse for controls (tile floors, wood grain, moldings etc.) That helped. As I did more of these sets (about 40 total), I streamlined my process.
Thanks!

Depends on the set.
The concept sketches are hand-drawn, scanned, then converted to AI. The rough sketches take about 1-2 hours. The clean concept 1-2 hours. The controls usually took about 2 regular work days for these sets. That varied based on the set. After creating a bunch of Simpsons sets, I had a library of elements that I could reuse for controls (tile floors, wood grain, moldings etc.) That helped. As I did more of these sets (about 40 total), I streamlined my process.
Thanks!

Thanks! Much appreciated. When I received this job, I was asked to emulate a style the design firm was using for the coloring book series. I was mimicking another artist, but I created these images from scratch. The tricky part was the freehand drawing in Illustrator with my Wacom. I had never done that before. It took some getting used to.

Hi Adam
Groooaaaaannnn…..
William Hirsch was the main guy I worked with at Jakks. I knew him from Playmates Toys.
He is a product manager.
When Jakks was pitching for the Voltron license, I was helping them design the playset concepts.
William has a habit of taking my artwork and putting it in his portfolio without explaining he was the product manager - NOT the designer.
I have spoken to him about this. I asked him to simply add a description to his images and explain his role in those projects, and possibly give me a 'shout out' as the artist. He has yet to do so.
He also has a number of my Simpsons designs in his portfolio posted here, again without any explanation or credit to me. >:(
The sad part, is that this isn't the first person to take credit for my artwork.